Mr. PeanutButter

My predictions are wrong one match in and I am fine with that

What sort of talent do the respective programs have waiting in the wings?

I'm not sure Brooks is putting on an act. He seems very genuine. Although Brooks has said some pretty controversial stuff Ferrari has actually nearly killed people, has made death threats on video and has has made some pretty disgusting comments towards women, also on video. There is no comparison.

I'm surprised so many are picking Ayala over Terukina. I know Barnette can be like a rollercoaster with his performances sometimes but Terukina looked very good while Ayala just lost. 125 - ISU dec 133 - IA dec 141 - IA maj 149 - ISU dec 157 - IA dec 165 - ISU dec 174 - IA dec 184 - ISU dec 197 - IA dec 285 - ISU maj 16-16 tie to be decided by criteria

Why? The only thing he has said in this thread is that Carter is a punk and that Lewis does nothing but try to score. Where are the falsehoods? Carter has said some real dumb stuff and Lewis really does do nothing on the mat against good competition. I don't cheer for Carter but I have to get him credit. He actually came to wrestle and he wrestled damn good. Edit: Ah, I realize you were probably referring to the stalling thread. Fair. I think it's undeniable that Carter was very, ahem, strategic his first 2 years in college. As I wrote in that thread, he is much, much more aggressive nowadays (generally).

I haven't spent much time on HR (or PSU's boards) the last few years. How certain are you that ironbird is a parody account? That poster is... Quite something but I always thought they were deathly serious

Talking to coach Brands in person is a lot different than anything you see on video but holy cow was that interview a steaming pile of cringe

Why? He and his camp came up with the most ludicrous excuse for doping that I've ever heard and he is really boring to watch against decent competition.

This really sucks as a fan. I do think the punishment is a bit too harsh but I never found myself sympathizing too much given that there was never any ambiguity regarding the consequences. The wrestlers brought this on themselves. How the heck does a coaches' son do something so pointlessly assisine? Nelson's Twitter tantrum and Assad's pouty interview were a really bad look. I can say all that and still honestly feel that it's a damn shame that I won't see those guys wrestle again (probably) in college.

Chatter I heard from some dude that loves to toot his horn is that Tom was back on campus coaching the Bill Farrell crew with Dan Dennis

Perhaps a little more inflammatory than the OP intended but I think I get the drift. After his worlds performance I too was caught very surprised when John lost not once but twice to domestic competition. He might be overhyped or he might be the best prospect (by a small margin) in an unforgiving weightclass. I was recently told that there were, like, a ton of different varieties of tomatoes so I suppose all sorts of pronunciations are welcome.

You write about Swafford more than his own brother. You guys related? Used to lift at the Y together?

As an Iowa fan, I actually find myself gravitating more towards your point of view than that of a lot of message board active Iowa fans. It does feel like, despite being consistently a trophy hunting team, that Iowa has underperformed and more often than I care to recall. Not having a champion every year stinks even if that might be due to PSU's success clouding my judgment. It also stinks that some of our highly touted recruits have come up short (Marinelli, Evans, Warner, Moore, come to mind) and that we seem to be beleaguered by injuries every year. I've heard many different rationalizations for these things from the fans over the years and some of them even make sense. Still, it stinks. Even admitting to all that, I'm not sure which coaching staff out there could be expected to do much better than the Brands have. It would be interesting to get someone outside of the program on staff, just to see what they could do. Iowa has gotten a very solid corps of recruits over the last half a dozen years or so but they are still behind PSU in this regard. Moreover, I would argue that they haven't even consistently been the #2 recruiting team during this time period. The last time I looked at the data I felt that that distinction belonged to The University. But my glasses may have been foggy. The transfer portal has been good to them. But, unfortunately, that seems to be our new reality and if you don't use it you'll find yourself falling behind. Even so it's not like this has played to their great advantage, either. I think PSU, and more recently, Michigan, have scooped bounties out of the portal just as much, as if not more, than Iowa.

Why do you get off on playing the victim?

I haven't followed the Ferrari's. Is Angelo a good enough prospect to warrant title threat status?

Love the idea. But add a strong incentive to get all the top dogs to compete in it. Seeding implications?

Whatever the circumstwnces, I still don't want this self fellating turd biscuit anywhere near the Iowa Hawkeyes.

I would welcome this change. The Brands have done about as well as anyone outside of Kale and Kompany but I think it's safe to say that a shakeup is needed if the hawks wish to get back up to the tippy top

Very interesting. Not sure what to make it of it. Hasn't Terry gone on record saying he doesn't like all the ancillary responsibilities that come with a head coaching position? Maybe this is a way for him to haggle for a higher salary with Iowa?

Where is this Hawkeye love you speak of? Many fans, including myself, are turning up their noses at the prospect of having AJ on the team. In terms of performance, aren't they currently ranked, like 12th or something? Half the team is projected to be out due to gambling issues. Prospects overall are pretty crummy. I fly in every year to catch a few duals. I won't be doing that this year (mostly because of the Ferraris)

Dayum I wish I had that kind of money in college (even now would be nice, too)

Interesting. Where is this reported?

gambling?...

Hope you find what you are looking for. Wish I could help personally. If nothing else a potential option would be to contact MMA gyms in the area. I know from personal experience that many are eager to welcome more wrestling based athletes into their sessions

Is there anything sound to the Gable to Iowa idea or is this just pure, irresponsible speculation?